Foreign hackers are hijacking social media accounts in Taiwan to spread disinformation aimed at damaging the reputation of the armed forces, the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) said yesterday.
The newly identified cyberoperatives hacked into devices connected to the Internet, such as surveillance cameras and facial recognition systems, to gain access to social media accounts on the forum Dcard and the Professional Technology Temple (PTT) bulletin board system, the bureau said in a news release.
China-linked hackers impersonating Taiwanese air force pilots have used the accounts to write posts about alleged poor pay and working conditions in the military, it said.
Photo: Reuters
One post said that many pilots were willing to face NT$3 million (US$92,914) in financial losses rather than renew their military contracts, while another said that the author was leaving the military for the civilian sector to have more time with their family, the bureau said.
On PTT, an account named “ss900287” amplified the messages by posting a link to a photograph purportedly showing a list of retired military pilots applying for jobs at China Airlines Ltd (中華航空), it said.
The Air Force Command’s efforts to debunk the fake stories have been met with a surge of similar posts on 170 abnormal Facebook groups, including “The Strait Today” (今日海峽), “Commentary by the Commander” (提督) and “You Ban, Me Mad” (你下架我狂), it said.
Chinese hackers have targeted facial recognition systems, digital cameras and other network devices to obtain personal data, which they have used to steal social media accounts, the bureau said, citing an investigation by its cybersecurity unit.
Assuming the identity of genuine users has allowed Beijing to enhance the apparent authenticity of the disinformation, it said.
The external forces responsible for the disinformation campaign used data de-identification techniques and rerouted their activity to mask their identities and location, the bureau said.
Social media platforms were notified and asked to ban the groups and users connected to the incidents, it said.
Taiwanese should enhance the security of networked devices and protect their accounts by using strong passwords and regularly updating them, it said.
In other news, fishers in Penghu County reported spotting a flotilla of Chinese fishing boats using fake Taiwanese radar transponder codes in waters southwest of the county’s Cimei Township (七美).
The boats pinged as Taiwanese vessels on radar, but upon visual inspection were clearly identified as being of Chinese origin, sources said.
Chinese fishing boats can be identified by their black hull paint and illegal vessels would be expelled upon detection, the Coast Guard Administration said.
The reason for the Chinese boats disguising their transponder code is not known, the agency added.
Additional reporting by Liu Yu-ching and CNA
NETWORK-MAPPING PROJECT: The database contains 170 detailed files of Taiwanese politicians and about 23 million records of household registration data in Taiwan China has developed a network-mapping project targeting political figures and parties in Taiwan to monitor public opinion during elections and to craft tailored influence campaigns aimed at dividing Taiwanese society, according to documents leaked by Chinese technology firm GoLaxy (中科天璣). The documents, collected by Taipei-based Doublethink Lab, showed a database was specifically created to gather detailed information on Taiwanese political figures, including their political affiliations, job histories, birthplaces, residences, education, religion and a brief biography about them. Several notable Taiwanese politicians are in the database, including President William Lai (賴清德), former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍),
RECOGNITION: Former Fijian prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry said that Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy serves as a stabilizing force in the Indo-Pacific region Taiwan can lead the unification of the Chinese people, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former Polish president Lech Walesa said in Taipei yesterday, adding that as the world order is changing, peaceful discussion would find good solutions, and that the use of force and coercion would always fail. Walesa made the remarks during his keynote address at a luncheon of the Yushan Forum in Taipei, titled “Indo-Pacific Partnership Prospects: Taiwan’s Values, Technology and Resilience,” organized by the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Walesa said that he had been at the forefront of a big peaceful revolution and “if
North Korea tested nuclear-capable rocket launchers, state media reported yesterday, a day after Seoul detected the launch of about 10 ballistic missiles. The test comes after South Korean and US forces launched their springtime military drills, due to run until Thursday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Saturday oversaw the testing of the multiple rocket launcher system (MRLS), the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The test involved 12 600mm-caliber ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers and two artillery companies, it said. Kim said the drill gave Pyongyang’s enemies, within the 420km striking range, a sense of “uneasiness” and “a deep understanding
North Korea yesterday fired about 10 ballistic missiles to the sea toward Japan, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, days after Pyongyang warned of “terrible consequences” over ongoing South Korea-US military drills. Pyongyang recently dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul, Washington’s security ally, describing its latest peace efforts as a “clumsy, deceptive farce.” Seoul’s military detected “around 10 ballistic missiles launched from the Sunan area in North Korea toward the East Sea [Sea of Japan] at around 1:20pm,” JCS said in a statement, referring to South Korea’s name for the body of water. The missiles
RSS